Ending the Peanut Allergy Epidemic

September 15, 2015 By Vaccine Choice Canada

By Heather Fraser

In 1995, my one-year-old son Woody reacted violently with anaphylaxis to a taste of peanut butter. In hindsight, he was part of the “first wave” of an epidemic of life-threatening peanut allergy in children that in just 20 years has reached two million cases in the U.S. alone. As these children have aged, the combined number of American adults and children with peanut allergy has reached about four million.

When the first edition of The Peanut Allergy Epidemic came out four years ago I was optimistic. My training is in historical research, and I truly thought that documented evidence, rooted in medical literature and primary source materials, as to the precipitating cause of the epidemic was key. I thought it would spark meaningful conversation with doctors and allergists. This has absolutely not occurred.